Dubai gathers leading experts for the first in a series of eventsfocusing on health and safety.

Expo 2020 hosts session on health and safety

DUBAI, April 21, 2018

Expo 2020 Dubai recently brought together contractors, sub-contractors, project managers, regulators and partners in Dubai for the first of a series of health, safety, quality and environment (HSQE) leadership events.

The session heard from a variety of stakeholders including Expo 2020’s construction and health and safety team leaders as well as regulators Dubai Municipality and the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE).

It covered a wide selection of HSQE subjects related to the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region.

Ahmed Al Khatib, Expo 2020 Dubai’s senior vice president for Real Estate and Delivery, told the conference that the health and safety of all workers on the site – which now number 15,000 – was a joint responsibility.

“This is about our collective commitment to do the right thing and to demonstrate leadership to all our teams to make sure the high standards Expo 2020 has set are enforced across the project,” he said.

“The scale of the challenge facing us will grow greater and it is up to all of us to meet that challenge head on and to succeed.”

Tony Aikenhead, chief infrastructure and delivery officer at Expo 2020 Dubai said: “This is about providing leadership and a collective commitment to ensure that the high standards we have set at Expo 2020 are achieved. We are working very closely with all contractors and the Dubai authorities in a collaborative environment.”

Dr Sultan Al Jamal, head of the Human Trafficking Crimes Monitoring Centre at Dubai Police said: “This is a team effort as we build on the work that we at Dubai Police have already achieved with Expo 2020 in ensuring the safety of workers on the site. This has also been done in collaboration with MOHRE, Dubai Municipality, and many others.

“We are all in this together, supporting a global event that is of such major importance to Dubai and the UAE. We are all proud to be making this contribution.”

At peak, construction workers on the 4.38-sq-km site will number 35,000. Expo 2020 Dubai is on course to complete its shell and core construction a year before the World Expo opens on 20 October, 2020.

To date, more than 14.5 million work hours have been completed on the Expo 2020 site.

All major design elements are complete – the last being the iconic Al Wasl Plaza, a 150-metre wide, 67.5-metre tall domed space that will be enjoyed by millions of visitors. Laing-O’Rourke will develop Al Wasl and two surrounding buildings. The development of Al Wasl Plaza will be managed by Meraas, with the steel work for the dome trellis provided by Cimolai-Rimond ME.

The three theme districts are also progressing well, a statement said, adding external cladding work on the three theme pavilions has begun and will be completed by the end of this year. – TradeArabia News Service